Lenora Crichlow: Material Girl

She’s the star of the BBC's new fashion drama, but there's more to this London actress than just heels and handbags

The music pounds and the models strut down the catwalk. Flashbulbs pop. And then, "Cut!" comes the command - and everything stops. For this is only a pretend fashion show, and rather than some glitzy venue in Paris or Milan, we are holed up in a rather faded ballroom in Deptford, southeast London. It is the final day of filming for Material Girl, the BBC's flagship drama for autumn. Loosely based on Fashion Babylon, Imogen Edwards-Jones's exposé of the rag trade, it follows the trials and tribulations of Ali Redcliffe, a young designer making her way in the cut-throat world of frocks and catwalk tantrums. In reality, though, "the fashion world isn't something I'm very savvy with", confesses Lenora Crichlow, the 24-year-old actress who stars as Ali, in a break between scenes. "In fact, the first catwalk show I've ever been to is the one we've just shot."